The present invention relates to a new and distinct trispecies hybrid cultivar designated as Vaccinium×[V. formosum×(V. constablaeii×V. virgatum)] (blueberry) grown as a fruiting woody shrub for commercial agriculture. Blueberries are typically consumed both fresh and in a number of processed products.
This new and distinct variety of blueberry plant originated from the hand pollinated cross of ‘Bluechip’ (V. formosum) (unpatented) (2n=4X=48 chromosomes)×NC 1827 [PI346603 (V. constablaeii)×‘Premier’ (V. virgatum)] (unpatented) (2n=6X=72 chromosomes) made in a greenhouse in Raleigh, N.C., by James R. Ballington in 1978. The progeny that resulted from this cross is pentaploid with 2n=5X=60 chromosomes. Seedlings were established in 1979 at the Horticultural Crops Research Station at Castle Hayne, N.C., and a single “fully fruitful” seedling, designated as experimental selection NC 2701, was selected by James R. Ballington in 1984. Of the progeny, NC 2701 was the single seedling with a full crop of fruit. In addition, it was selected for medium to large fruit size, desirable fruit color, picking scar, firmness, flavor and low numbers of seeds per berry. As is typical with pentaploids, NC 2701 produces very little viable pollen and requires cross-pollination for fruit set and development.
NC 2701 was first established in observation trials at Jackson Springs, N.C., and based on its performance in these trials was repropagated by stem cuttings and established in replicated trials in Castle Hayne, N.C. and Jackson Springs, N.C. NC 2701 was also established in an observation trial on one commercial blueberry farm in Ivanhoe, N.C., under a Memorandum of Agreement with North Carolina State University. In addition, in 2014, NC 2701 was established in observation trials through Material Transfer Agreements between North Carolina State University, the USDA blueberry breeding program at Corvallis, Oreg., and the Rutgers University blueberry breeding program at Chatsworth, N.J. With these three agreements the University retains ownership of the plants and the grower or breeding program provides the land and care of the plants. This new variety has been named the ‘Heintooga’ cultivar, due to the similarity of its fruit quality to its wild V. constablaeii grandparent, PI 346603, which was collected on Heintooga Ridge Spur Road in western North Carolina in 1967.